Forty School-based Communities for Junior High School Mathematics Teachers in Arab and Jewish towns in Northern Israel to Promote Clinical Teaching Expertise and Increase the Pipeline for 5-Unit Mathematics
In the past, most professional development for teachers in Israel has taken place in off-campus institutions, delivered by external experts, disconnected from daily school life and challenges. However, in recent years, following best practice of high performing education systems around the world, there is a growing tendency in Israel to encourage in-school peer-to-peer professional development. The recent wage agreement between the government and the teachers’ unions now includes designated resources, which allow such collaboration to realize.
As there are always a number of mathematics teachers in any given school, their department provides a natural framework for collaboration between teachers, with one of them taking the role of department head. However, in talking to mathematics teachers they note that, in most cases, they dedicate their staff meetings to dealing with administrative issues, and to a lesser extent with pedagogy. They rarely engage in building practical skills together, discussing teaching methods, or observing one another’s lessons and giving feedback. Students are split into ability groups, yet teachers seldom design a joint instructional system to encourage students to make the effort and move up the ladder.
In response to the need for school mathematics departments to grow as professional communities, the mathematics teaching department of Haifa University, in collaboration with the Education Ministry, is proposing a three-year program to train 40 mathematics department heads in student-centered clinical teaching techniques, so they are able to implement them with their teams. Haifa University believes that by using these techniques, the department heads will be able to take first significant steps in turning their teams into communities of practice.
Over the past three years, Haifa University has been running a multi-year program, “Five Club”, that establishes and manages professional learning communities (PLCs) of 5-unit mathematics teachers across the country. The insights learned will serve as a basis for the establishment of school-based communities in junior high schools.
Haifa University is planning to execute the proposed program for 40 department heads, in two cohorts of 20 per year. In the first stage, 20 department heads from selected schools will meet with Haifa University experts for three hours every two weeks to jointly analyze examples and cases from their own classrooms. Together they will present and analyze evidence from the classroom, define terms and practices together, discuss pedagogical concepts such as common mistakes, and how they connect with practical experience in the class. In addition, they will learn how to create and manage an in-school community of practice, discuss organizational skills, team-building and resource management.
After six months, the department heads will then go back to their mathematics departments in their schools and will work with the mathematics teachers to implement these practices together, while receiving weekly coaching and support from Haifa University (4 hours per week). In the second year of the program, an additional 20 department heads will be trained and will establish their own communities, while the first cohort continue.
Of the participating schools, 20 schools will be located in the Arab sector and 20 schools in the Jewish sector of the Haifa region. Haifa University will collaborate with the Education Ministry regional instructor of the Haifa area, who will recruit the schools to take part in the program.